Manager, UX Design

KFC•Plano, TX

About The Position

Taco Bell is seeking a creatively driven Manager, UX/UI Design to set creative direction, deliver high-quality digital experiences, and develop a talented design team. This hands-on leadership role requires strong visual craft, product thinking, and the ability to guide designers while contributing directly to design work. The role guides omnichannel experiences across kiosks, digital menu boards, and restaurant technology, translating Taco Bell’s brand into intuitive experiences across physical and digital environments. It works closely with Product, Engineering, Brand Creative, Content, Strategy, Research, and Design Operations. Advanced Figma proficiency and practical Adobe Creative Cloud expertise, particularly Photoshop and Illustrator, are essential. The manager leads creative direction and design quality, coaches UX/UI and product designers, and partners across functions to deliver implementation-ready work. The role incorporates customer needs, brand expression, research, analytics, accessibility, restaurant operating conditions, and technical constraints into design decisions. It also supports design systems, design QA, and the consistent quality of experiences through launch. Success means the team delivers polished, recognizable, easy-to-use Taco Bell experiences; designers take ownership and grow; partners receive clear recommendations and ready-to-implement designs; shared patterns improve consistency and efficiency; and launched work is evaluated against customer, business, and operational goals. Applicants should provide a portfolio showing individual design craft and leadership contributions, including the problem, their role, creative direction, decisions, and outcome. The expected salary range is $151,600 to $165,000 annually, with bonus eligibility. Pay will also reflect the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.

Requirements

6+ years of relevant experience in UX/UI, product design, or digital experience design.
4+ years of design management experience in an agency or corporate environment, including direct responsibility for coaching and developing designers.
Exceptional visual design skills demonstrated through a portfolio of distinctive, thoughtfully executed digital experiences.
Advanced hands-on Figma proficiency, including Auto Layout, components, variants, variables, shared libraries, responsive layouts, and interactive prototyping.
Strong Adobe Creative Cloud proficiency, particularly Photoshop and Illustrator, including creating, refining, and preparing visual assets for digital use.
Track record of translating brand identity into usable, accessible interfaces and cohesive experiences.
Experience guiding work from discovery and concept development through production and launch.
Strong understanding of interaction design, information hierarchy, accessibility, and design systems.
Ability to explain design decisions clearly, navigate feedback, and build productive cross-disciplinary relationships.
Sound judgment balancing creative ambition, customer needs, delivery timelines, and technical constraints.
Portfolio demonstrating individual design craft and leadership contribution, including the problem, role, creative direction, key decisions, and delivered outcome.

Nice To Haves

Experience with kiosks, digital menu boards, retail, hospitality, or other connected physical and digital experiences.
Motion design or micro-interaction skills that strengthen usability and brand expression.
Familiarity with front-end development concepts and close collaboration with engineers.
Thoughtful use of AI tools for exploration, prototyping, and documentation, supported by strong creative judgment and attention to quality.

Responsibilities

Establish creative and experience direction for assigned products and initiatives, connecting customer needs, brand expression, and business goals.
Turn ideas into compelling concepts, polished interfaces, and interactive prototypes; set high standards for typography, layout, color, imagery, hierarchy, and interaction design.
Lead constructive design critiques and provide actionable feedback that improves work and develops designers’ judgment.
Stay involved from early exploration through implementation and ensure delivered experiences reflect the intended design.
Manage, coach, and develop UX/UI and product designers through clear expectations, regular feedback, and growth opportunities.
Delegate work with clear ownership, context, and support; coordinate internal designers and contract partners to maintain quality and accountability.
Partner with design leadership and Design Operations to balance capacity, priorities, and development needs, and foster a collaborative design environment.
Translate complex requirements into clear user journeys, flows, interfaces, and prototypes, adapting experiences to each surface while maintaining a cohesive Taco Bell identity.
Incorporate research, customer feedback, analytics, and accessibility considerations into design decisions.
Partner with the Design Systems team to evolve reusable patterns and components that support consistency and creative expression.
Account for restaurant conditions such as viewing distance, interaction speed, operational needs, and hardware constraints.
Collaborate with Product and Engineering to clarify requirements, assess feasibility, and resolve tradeoffs early.
Work with Brand Creative, Marketing, and Content Strategy to adapt campaigns and brand assets for product experiences.
Present recommendations with clear rationale connecting creative choices to customer and business outcomes.
Establish review points, document decisions, resolve conflicting feedback, and provide interaction states, annotations, assets, and specifications for implementation.
Participate in design QA and help resolve visual and usability issues before release.